Halo: ReCommitioned
by Diesel369
Summary: It's been merely months since the end of the Great War, and life on Earth seems to be saved, and civilization is rebuilding itself. But with our heroes lost and allies departed, a dark secret is revealed. Will we find help in time? And who will come?
1. Chapter 1: Funeral

The characters listed here are not owned by me. They are property of Bungie and these are just my original stories.

Halo: Re-commissioned

Spartan-117: John

Chapter 1: Funeral

**Earth, War Tribute Memorial**

**April 2, 2553**

The mid-day sun strayed arcs of light across the barren wastelands, showing vividly the scars left from the near genocide that was the Great War. The awards and armors glisten alike from the chests of the remaining humans of the UNSC, and the former Covenant Elites, or "Sangheli" as they call themselves; standing in formation together as the fallen are honored here today. A downed Longsword fighter in front of them has been covered with pictures and names of the brothers and sisters left behind, along with the number "117" carved into the tail rutter in large bold letters.

"I can never forget what your kind did to mine when you started this war" Admiral Coal grumbles in a cold, hard voice. "but thank you for being with him… until the end" he finished thoughtfully, hardly able to meet the stare of the elite named "Arbiter" as he shakes his hand. "It's hard to believe he's gone" he mumbles in a low voice not meant for anyone but himself. "Were it so easy" the Arbiter replies in a questioning tone, knowing just how hard it is to kill the one the Covenant had dubbed "The Demon".

As the ceremony ended, the elites entered their drop ships and ascend to their capital cruiser hovering high above the tattered, ruined city of New Mombassa; a city ripped apart earlier in the war, partially by their hands before the split of the Covenant army after the Prophet/Brute alliance undermined the elite control. The Covenant was an army that would defeat and absorb races into its ranks, and expanding it's control across hundreds of galaxies. Its purpose was a holy crusade of sorts, failing to understand the ancient technologies left behind by the mysterious Forerunner race which had crafted the seven halo rings across the galaxies as a last resort to the infection known only as the "Flood". The Prophets are a self righteous race who do not admit failure well; they brought the races of the elites, brutes, hunters,

grunts, drones, and jackals together with the belief that the Forerunners left on "The Great Journey" and that the rings where left for those pure enough to walk the path of enlightenment behind them into a sort of heaven. In the end, they came very close to activating the main controls for these rings, left by the Forerunners here, on Earth.

With the Covenant all but eradicated, and the Flood thought to be destroyed along with the Gravemind (an intelligent being which controlled the flood, making them work as one), it seems the Great War had ended, and again we could sleep peacefully. Before this war had started, before we knew of the Covenant, or any other race, we were at war with ourselves. The United Nations Space Corporation was under constant attack from the terrorist-like Insurrectionists, or "Innies". Wanting control as most wars are fought over; they killed hundreds of thousands in demonstration towards the UNSC, hoping to demoralize and shatter bonds. It was because of this, that the Spartan-II project was secretly devised. Dr. Halsey and Corporal Mendez abducted 75 of the most promising six-year-olds and enlisted them into the UNSC; from there they were conditioned and trained, taught history of war, all known types of war, and the reason they were there, to end it. They were shown recreation videos of ancient wars; one in particular was that of the Spartans of Greece, which the project was crafted around. They too were trained from children to be the greatest of all warriors.

Much like the ancient Spartans, these Spartan-II's were perfect warriors, and perfect soldiers at the age of 16. They worked more efficiently than any force of the UNSC, even the special operation ODST's(Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) which are similar to the old American Navy Seals. Even so, at this age they were ready for the next phase of the Spartan program. They were taken into Orbit around the planet Reach to a medical facility, here they were given treatments that enhanced every aspect of their physical abilities. Roughly half of the 75 Spartan-II's died during this process; several were too badly warped from the augmentations to proceed as soldiers. The others now were immensely stronger, faster, quicker reflexes, better all around senses, along with nearly unbreakable bones. This also made them taller and broader, which took weeks of therapy to adjust to.

Once accustomed to their new abilities, the 33 active Spartan-II's were flawless as a team. But even this was not the end of the project, as the final phase III was the introduction of their MJOLNIR Mark IV Powered Assault Armor, which enhanced their abilities ten fold in

comparison. They became seemingly unstoppable, meant to end the insurrections and bring peace without casualties to the UNSC. This is when the Covenant made a violent first contact on the planet of Harvest, and no longer were the Innies the primary concern. Later in the battle of Reach many Spartan-II's and marines alike died as the Covenant glassed the planned with their plasma weapons, it was unlike anything our worlds had ever seen, and it would not be the last world to endure such a fate. Several of the Spartan-II's are still considered missing in action (MIA), along with several younger Spartan-III's which were created later for suicide missions but proved to be just as resilient as their older siblings. The UNSC has listed all Spartan-II's and III's as MIA, because the secret branch of the UNSC named ONI played it as a moral booster, making it seem like Spartans couldn't die. "Wish that were true" a Spartan once said, but beneath the rubble and ash could even a Spartan survive the hell the covenant made of these galaxies? If they are still out there, will they come back in time to help us if we need them again?


	2. Chapter 2: Wake Up!

Chapter 2: Wake Up!...

**Aboard the rear half of **_**Forward Unto Dawn**_

**September 17, 2553**

It's been over five months now since Spartan-117: John entered cryo sleep under the watchful eye of Cortana (his artificial intelligence sidekick of sorts). As the UNSC frigate _Forward Unto Dawn _was escaping from the Ark world (the main control system for the seven ring worlds), the portal to Earth collapsed cutting the ship in half. The bow of the ship was returned to Earth along with the Arbiter, but the stern along with the Master chief and Cortana was left behind near the Ark world, beacons were dispersed, but there is no promise of response.

On the far wall across from the cryo tubes, a data screen flickers to life.

_Being scanning for life forms… Incoming message from UNSC cruiser Zeus's Rage. Accept hail? _

Cortana flickers into view on the holo panel beside the console, more an act of habit than necessity, since she sees all information processed through the ship and its sensor array. She immediately accepted the message. It flows across the screen.

_UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn, this is Captain Ortan of the UNSC cruiser Zeus's Rage. We intercepted your long range rescue beacon. We are sending a rescue team to board with your starboard docking bay immediately, have all survivors that can be moved to that area, and we'll have medical units ready. If you can respond please let us know how many to expect so that we might be more prepared. Oh, and sorry for the wait._

Cortana answers only the question asked and says little else, "Thank you Captain Ortan, we have only one survivor".

As she starts the thawing process lights and monitors flicker on above the cryo tube, gas vents releasing the pressure within the tube and slowly the hatch opens. Cortana flickers again into view but this time directly beside the Chief's cryo. She says in an excited tone, "Wake Up!... Chief!". John, still shaking off the "freezer burn" as marines like to call it, misinterprets Cortana's excitement for danger and lunges out of the tube grabbing his MA5 assault rifle and rolling into a ready crouch and scans the area for immediate danger. "Cortana battle assessment, pronto!" he shouts.

"No.. Chief, there is no battle, we're being rescued!" she explains.

"What? How long have I been out?"

"Just over 5 months"

"That's impossible, No UNSC ship could have picked up our signal in that amount of time, have you run a scan?" he picked

"Who exactly do you think you're talking to here? Did I thaw you too quickly?" Cortana scowled back

John stares at her display and cocks his head quizzically "Then how is this possible?"

"It's a new class of ship, like nothing I've seen within the UNSC, it seems that our new allies have been trading technology with us, it seems that this ship, Zeus's Rage, has a Covenant slip stream drive as well as a heavy shield generator, along with the traditional battle plating" She explains, "It must be a retrofit of one of our newer cruisers that survived the battle of Earth".

"I guess the elites are full of surprises I didn't expect" John says in an unbelieving tone.

"Alright, pull me out of here and lets get to the starboard docking bay, they'll be ready to pick us up in 5" Cortana exclaims as John pulls her memory core from the console, her display disappearing. He inserts the core into his neural interface; instantly the cool feeling washes through his mind and then he hears "still roomy" as Cortana jokes with him as she did the first time they worked together.

"Alright, lets go" he states as he sprints to the door of the cryo room and then down the corridor towards the docking bay.

As he shifts through the door still alert, he's instantly relieved to see ODST uniforms on 7 soldiers standing ready in front of the Pelican drop ship. The tallest man standing in the lead approaches John, the name on his chest read Johnson, catching his attention immediately. But Avery Johnson died in his arms he thought, was this a relative or just a coincidence? It's not a rare name exactly, but something to check in on later, once debriefed.

"It's the Master Chief!" a few of the marines shouted

"Damn it's good to see you sir!" Johnson shouts, "Moral hit the floor when you didn't come back with the Arbiter, everyone thought you were… well it doesn't matter, let's get you over to the cruiser, I'm sure your ready to relax for a change"

"Thanks" John replied, "It's good to see you too"

"You have no idea…" Cortana whispered in his head

What's next? He thought, "How are things back at Earth?"

"Things are… ok, we're rebuilding, but doing it smarter, just in case anyone decides to come try again, we'll be ready, but you'll see soon" Johnson explained

What are we building? Are the elites still on our side? A lot must has happened since that portal closed, but it's good to hear Earth is still there, that we had won, at least for now.


	3. Chapter 3: Old Friends

Chapter 3: Old Friends

**Onyx Shield World**

**Date and time unknown**

"So what exactly are we suppose to do now? Wait until the war is over and someone stumbles across us?" Mark asks blandly.

Mark is one of five known surviving Spartan-III's along with Ash, Olivia, Tom, and Lucy. They were trained by Spartan-051: Kurt, a Spartan-II who gave his life saving them as well as Dr. Halsey. He also managed to help save his own brothers and sisters, fellow Spartan-II's -058: Linda, -104: Fred, and -087: Kelly. They escaped the blast from Kurt's bomb and the Covenant army by entering the shield world, located within the planet of Onyx. It is a Forerunner construction with unknown intent, but believed to be meant as an escape from the Flood.

"It is likely that since this is a Forerunner safe world that they have some sort of beacon or transponder to communicate with the outside world or to evaluate the situation" Dr. Halsey ponders.

"In that case, we should split into three teams and search the area for any technology" Fred ordered.

"Olivia and Ash, you're with me, we're moving northwest. We'll make up blue team" with a smirk under his visor, knowing how far from the original blue team this was, quickly allowing himself to wonder about John's mission.

"Kelly, take Mark and Dr. Halsey and head east, your red team" Knowing Kelly would be annoyed at the slower pace with the doctor in her team, but she was the closest to Dr. Halsey, and with her the safest.

"Linda, Tom, Lucy, your green team, and you're going southwest" This will be the most efficient fighting team, even if it's unlikely to find a fight here; there's no reason not to be prepared.

"I'm placing a short range beacon here to link with your hud, this will be our headquarters until we find what we're looking for. Without further instruction, meet back here in 3 hours. We don't know what we may have to deal with here, so keep alert, and keep close" This shouldn't be more than a scouting trip, but something just doesn't feel right, maybe it's just the fact that everything has been so out of control. But now, finally, there is time to think, time to let everything sink in, just a little. So much has been lost recently, Kurt, James, Holly, were they lives spent, or lives wasted? A question John told me to always ask myself when leading any soldiers. How we could use him now, if only to know he is alive. But just as Kurt said over his intercom right before the portal closed, "Die? Don't you know? Spartans never die." Only a joke to ONI… spy scum.

"Alright, lets move!" he yelled

Before turning to lead her team away, Linda, understand Fred's pause grasped his shoulder with a hand, and nodded to let him know he wasn't alone in these thoughts. She always seemed to be the rock at the center of blue team, never failing or faltering.

The three teams moved away from each other in their respective directions, hoping to spot shelter, or at least some sign of a possible exit. It seemed unlikely that in such natural land there would be any buildings at all. Of course from all the reports the Forerunner worlds did not resemble Earth's cities. They revolved around nature and spare, fitting unparalleled technology together with all the resources they needed without one overpowering the other. There were three major worries to consider, first had Kurt's plan worked or were the Covenant about to burst in here at any moment. But knowing Kurt, and the power of the two FENRIS nukes he had with him, that shouldn't be a problem. Second, how were we getting out of here and how long would we be stuck here? But the largest worry was the fact that most of the Forerunner worlds found had traces of the Flood there too, and that is a problem we simply can't afford.

An hour later red team called in a possible find, a large structure resembling the data John had collected from installation 04, the ring world referred to as the first halo.

"It's not clear what it's purpose is, it's in the middle of a large field, little to no cover, and no windows. I see one entrance" Kelly listed into her helmet so that all the Spartans could hear.

The other teams had only located a small river, a few small mountains, and a herd of animals that resemble dear. At least they had food and water if their supplies didn't last long enough to find a way out.

"Stay hidden until we get to you, just in case" Fred replied over the intercom.

"Aye, Sir" Kelly laughed, but it was hard for her to underestimate Fred. When John was sent on his separate mission, Fred took the reins without much trouble. He reminds everyone constantly that he's going to be more than happy to hand it all back over to John, because this is what John was meant for.

Kelly has had the hardest time being away from John, they had always been the most closely bonded of any of the Spartans. When they were kids in the training camp working together everyday, and depending on each other, she thought of John as a brother. But now having time away from him, it's become more obvious that he means much more to her than that. Of course Spartan's weren't suppose to feel sexual urges because of their augmentations, this seemed to be on an almost spiritual level, much like many ancient novels had described as love. It was a curious subject that the team rarely discussed, anything outside of war and tactics and training always seemed strange, too… civilian. But what if this feeling was love? Was it possible that John felt the same? This train of thought kept the mind busy when there wasn't much to do, but too embarrassing for her to discuss with any of her team, scared they would see her differently. Suddenly everything that has happened made her finally decide just what the right thing to do was. If she ever saw John again, the first chance she got alone with him she would explain exactly what she thought, and seemed to feel.

Just as she was coming to this conclusion a stir in the bushes 50 yards behind them caught her attention. Instantly she was in front of Dr. Halsey with her battle rifle leveled at her shoulder.

"Oly oly oxen free…" came from the bushes. A Spartan-II all clear signal since the first group mission in training on Reach.

"Glad you remembered, I'd hate for such history to go to waste" she joked.

"I figured your group would make it here first Linda"

"We weren't too far behind" Fred chimed in as he cleared the trees just right of Linda.

They all huddled against the last tree line before the clearing that led to the strange building.

"Okay green team and I will move into the building to see what we've found. Olivia and Ash will assist you red team, set up a perimeter around the building, I want to know if we have any company, but Kelly I want you close to the doctor" Fred arranged.

"Dr. Halsey once we clear the structure Ash will escort you to us inside, hopefully we got lucky and this will give us the answers we need. It looks like we only managed to cover thirty miles, and I didn't see it ending anytime soon, so this place must be huge" he finished before nodding to Kelly and leading Blue team towards the only doors of the Forerunner stucture.


End file.
